The present invention is an implement for cultivating row crops and hilling dirt close to the stem of the plants while lifting the plant's lower leaves out of the way of the moving dirt.
The process of removing weeds or of at least hindering their growth to allow production crops an advantage has evolved from hoeing by hand to tractor drawn cultivators working the areas between rows combined with hand hoeing close to plants. Further evolution has replaced the hand hoeing close to plants with herbicide application which is both expensive and a potential danger to the environment. The present invention is tractor driven and duplicates the results of hand hoeing which reduces or eliminates the need for herbicides.
Some previous cultivators have provided fenders or deflectors to break the throw of the earth as it leaves the plow or shovel to keep the dirt from covering and damaging the plants. For examples see U.S. Pat. No. 311,909 awarded Gilbert Miller Feb. 10, 1885 and also U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,780 to Duwayne Evenson Apr. 19, 1994. Both of these devices only bounce the dirt back down to the land and do not provide a horizontal, lateral throw of earth for covering weeds near the plants. For all prior art designs to get dirt close to the plant stems, plowing would need to be so close to the plants that their roots would be disturbed. The present invention lifts the crop's leaves as the implement passes, and dirt is directed laterally toward the stems without leaf or root damage.